14" and 16" M1 Pro SD Card Slot Problems

[paalb]

I have made a post with the title

MacBook Pro M1 2021 SD-Card test report collaboration​

I want to build up a database of SD-Cards that pro and hobby photographers can rely on. This will also give us info that we can use to document if this problem is random or not.

This is not a speed test! I only want to know if the card works or is troublesome, but since rsync will report speed I will note the result.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I'm wondering if some of the problems with SD cards (and Macs) could be due to "mechanical irregularities" between the cards and Apple's "slots".

There are quite a few small contacts that need to be mated to get the card "recognized". I'm thinking that if even one contact "doesn't make it"... the card will not be "seen"...

That's a good point.

If it is a hardware problem... is this something that Apple can fix?

Can the SD reader be swapped easily at an Apple Store or other service center?

Or is it built into the motherboard?

If it's the latter... yikes...

 

[Good User Name]

TLDR: I managed to fix my problem by going into Disk Utility and mounting the card.

I have a 64 GB microSD card that I used in a dSLR. Reads instantly when placed inside an adapter case and connected via a dongle/dock thing connected to either my iPad or my MacBook Pro (M1 Max). Thing would not be read by the built in port.

I'd get pop-up saying, "the disk you attached was not readable by this computer". Which was nonsense as it was already reading it just fine when connected another way. So I went looking online for answers and found nothing directly applicable (a lot of help assumes the card can't be read in any way at all). Eventually I just went into the Disk Utility app and saw that appeared in there as an unmounted disk called disk5s1. I just clicked on this and pressed the double-diamond "Mount" symbol at the top and it came up right away.

Unlike with the dock/dongle accessory the SD card showed up on the desktop with an SD card symbol. The accessory showed it as a drive.

 

[robinbrockway]

This is a serious groan....... I had this problem with my MacBook Pro 2015, ie the SD card would only mount after frigging around putting it and pulling it out of the slot etc. I resorted to a USB card reader which worked fine always. I'm just staggered that the my new MacBook pro 16" 2021 has exactly the same problem and intermittently does not mount the SD card (Sandisk Extreme Pro 64 GB). My camera (Sony RX10 Mk IV) has never had a problem with the card - I use it day in and day out.... however my new, rather expensive, Mac laptop seems to be little better than what I bought from Apple in 2015. I would imagine it's a hardware problem but (hopefully) I am wrong! I'm glad to find it's not just me with the problem.

 

[dark_skies]

This SD-weirdness is the last thing keeping me from upgrading. My 2015 is hanging in there but it is definitely time. Please, Apple, fix this. In case it is hardware rather than software, I'm waiting.

 

[wilberforce]

I confirmed there is no improvement from Monterey 12.1. If anything, I am seeing even worse performance from the SD card slot.
Crossing my fingers for Monterey 12.2.

 

[DJ_NUFC]

As a working photographer, this is a disaster. I just upgraded to the 16" M1 Max. And I'm going to have to buy a freaking dongle to use a slot that's already built into the computer, that I just paid $5000+ for.

Ridiculous.

 

[Michael Scrip]

As a working photographer, this is a disaster. I just upgraded to the 16" M1 Max. And I'm going to have to buy a freaking dongle to use a slot that's already built into the computer, that I just paid $5000+ for.

Ridiculous.

Which cards have you tried and what were the results in the new Macbook Pro?

Sometimes it depends on the brand/type of SD cards...

 

[ddavid]

I just mounted about 10 different SD cards on a 16M1Pro without any issues. The transfer seemed a bit slow, ~5 min 32GB, but the SD is older and not the fastest.

I feel lucky that i haven’t experienced this snafu (yet) and would be beyond pissed if I did, as this is a large part of my decision to buy the M1Pro.

 

[Hornhauer]

Same problem here with my 14" M1 Pro. I'm using a uhs-i Sony SD Card. 95mb/s. Wanted to import 10gb of pics in capture one and the preview showed me a time of 3 hours.
Then I tried it with my 10€ dongle and the import needed exactly 10min....

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Have around 7 differ SD cards that I use from 256gb to 1TB, they are all Sandisk and Samsung. No issues on the 16" M1 Max.

 

[pixxelpusher]

I also have this issue of files not copying to a Samsung 512 EVO Plus microSD that I use as an additional internal storage.

Basically transfers hang in the Finder and then gives a "error code 100060". This is on a M1 Max 16".

Only work around I've found so far is using an alternate finder app like Path Finder to copy files. Hope this gets fixed soon.

 

[wilberforce]

I also have this issue of files not copying to a Samsung 512 EVO Plus microSD that I use as an additional internal storage.

Basically transfers hang in the Finder and then gives a "error code 100060". This is on a M1 Max 16".

Only work around I've found so far is using an alternate finder app like Path Finder to copy files. Hope this gets fixed soon.

Well this is very interesting:
1. Usually the issue is with read, not write.
2. This is this first time I have heard of someone being able to resolve the problem by using different software. Usually the SD card either is just not recognized by the system, or transfer is very slow or hangs, no matter what the software.
3. Usually the only way to resolve the issue is to use the SD card in a dongle connected to a USB-C port.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Sanpete]

2. This is this first time I have heard of someone being able to resolve the problem by using different software. Usually the SD card either is just not recognized by the system, or transfer is very slow or hangs, no matter what the software.

Think someone else said they could mount cards in Disk Utility that wouldn't mount otherwise.

 

[wilberforce]

Think someone else said they could mount cards in Disk Utility that wouldn't mount otherwise.

Yes, I remember that.
My problem is that all my cards mount (some after a short delay), but that the read speed on about half of them is zero to 1 MB/s. Basically unusable. My other SD cards are fine, and there is no consistent pattern. All work fine in a dongle.
I've played around with Disk Utility mounting, unmounting, reformatting, repairing, renaming, with no joy.

 

[iDron]

I'm seeing a weird SD-card behaviour:

stick my SD card in the built-in reader, and Finder freezes or is extremely sluggish for probably 1-2mins. After that time however, it moves to being quite usable and copies files fine, even though not super fast.

 

[paalb]

I also have this issue of files not copying to a Samsung 512 EVO Plus microSD that I use as an additional internal storage.

Basically transfers hang in the Finder and then gives a "error code 100060". This is on a M1 Max 16".

Only work around I've found so far is using an alternate finder app like Path Finder to copy files. Hope this gets fixed soon.

Well this is very interesting:
1. Usually the issue is with read, not write.
2. This is this first time I have heard of someone being able to resolve the problem by using different software. Usually the SD card either is just not recognized by the system, or transfer is very slow or hangs, no matter what the software.
3. Usually the only way to resolve the issue is to use the SD card in a dongle connected to a USB-C port.

Thanks for the info.

Yes, I remember that.
My problem is that all my cards mount (some after a short delay), but that the read speed on about half of them is zero to 1 MB/s. Basically unusable. My other SD cards are fine, and there is no consistent pattern. All work fine in a dongle.
I've played around with Disk Utility mounting, unmounting, reformatting, repairing, renaming, with no joy.

I downloaded Path Finder and I get the same result as I have shown in my video here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-pro-m1-2021-sd-card-test-report-collaboration.2327880/

Rsync and Path Finder both use a long time before something happens. All files copy eventually. Same SD card gets an error when using Finder. I will update my post SD-Card test report collaboration to suggest people download Path Finder and use the free trial to test their Cards.

 

[wilberforce]

I downloaded Path Finder and I get the same result as I have shown in my video here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macbook-pro-m1-2021-sd-card-test-report-collaboration.2327880/

Rsync and Path Finder both use a long time before something happens. All files copy eventually. Same SD card gets an error when using Finder. I will update my post SD-Card test report collaboration to suggest people download Path Finder and use the free trial to test their Cards.

Thanks for all this investigatory work.

I will try Path Finder when I get a chance.

Just clarify to what you meant by "same result" - you got the same (bad) result using Pathfinder as using Finder, or you got the same (good) result using Pathfinder as @pixxelpusher did?

 

[paalb]

Thanks for all this investigatory work.

I will try Path Finder when I get a chance.

Just clarify to what you meant by "same result" - you got the same (bad) result using Pathfinder as using Finder, or you got the same (good) result using Pathfinder as @pixxelpusher did?

The same as in the video in the post I linked

 

[kinchee87]

I've found that that some microSD card adaptors prevent my 14" Max from mount my SanDisk Ultra 128GB microSD card (ExFat). Luckily, I can get 37MB/s write and 45MB/s read with my old Nifty adaptor.

 

[trickartt]

I’ve been struggling with the SD slot issue since I got my 14” a little over three weeks ago so I thought I’d add some noise about the issue.

For the sake of quantifiable numbers, I ran the Blackmagic speed test on a load of SD cards in my house.

TLDR: the only cards I have problems with are the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB 95MB/s SDHC, and even then it’s inconsistent by card.

SD Card	Built-in Read	Built-in Write	Dongles Read	Dongles Write
SanDisk Ultra microSD 64GB	33 MB/s	24 MB/s	32 MB/s	22 MB/s
SanDisk Extreme microSD 400GB	88 MB/s	73 MB/s	88 MB/s	77 MB/s
SanDisk Ultra 128GB 120MB/s	89 MB/s	32 MB/s	92 MB/s	32 MB/s
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB 95MB/s (2014)	90 MB/s	65 MB/s	91 MB/s	70 MB/s
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB 95MB/s (2017)	90 MB/s*	66 MB/s*	92 MB/s	70 MB/s
SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB 95MB/s (2020)	0.5 MB/s	1.1 MB/s	92 MB/s	70 MB/s
PNY High Performance 32GB 50MB/s	87 MB/s	48 MB/s	90 MB/s	44 MB/s

*this card took well over a minute to mount or unmount in the built-in slot, but the performance seemed relatively normal once it did mount


So there are three SDEP32 cards in my list here, all bought at different times, all dispatched and sold by Amazon UK. They all look identical, except the one bought in 2020 has an additional ‘V10’ logo on it. The one I bought in 2014 works completely normally. The one from 2017 takes ages to mount but then works normally. The one I bought in 2020 is completely useless in the built-in slot, but works fine with a chain of USB-C to -A and USB-A to SD dongles. The numbers for the built-in slot for this card make it look better than it is - it mostly just hangs and freezes, then refuses to unmount.


I do find it a bit weird that they still sell these 95 MB/s ‘Extreme Pro’ cards in 2022, when the cards two models down in the SanDisk hierarchy (Ultra) are advertised to be faster (120 MB/s). I think the answer is to just buy a pair of new SD cards of a slightly different model/spec to replace these cursed SDEP32s, and just hope that what I buy instead works normally, but the fact that the cards work fine with the dongles does suggest there's something up with the built-in reader!

 

[-griffy-]

For Christmas, I received a 128GB SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC II card at 300MB/s and it works as expected in the SD card slot, along with the 64GB version of the same card I had bought myself shortly after I got the new laptop.

 

[UgoMac]

Also I have the same problem on M1 16 "Pro. I only use microSD with the drone and I have tried all the ones I have:
# 2 Sandisk Extreme PRO 32GB does not work
# 4 Sandisk Extreme PRO 64GB works fine
# 2 Sandisk Extreme PRO 128GB works fine
# 4 Sandisk Extreme 32GB doesn't work
# 2 Lexar 1000x 32GB not working.

Maybe it depends on the type of SD and some are compatible while others are not?

The same cards, if inserted in an external reader, are mounted correctly and the reading speed is the same as the built-in slot.

 

[wilberforce]

Also I have the same problem on M1 16 "Pro. I only use microSD with the drone and I have tried all the ones I have:
# 2 Sandisk Extreme PRO 32GB does not work
# 4 Sandisk Extreme PRO 64GB works fine
# 2 Sandisk Extreme PRO 128GB works fine
# 4 Sandisk Extreme 32GB doesn't work
# 2 Lexar 1000x 32GB not working.

Maybe it depends on the type of SD and some are compatible while others are not?

The same cards, if inserted in an external reader, are mounted correctly and the reading speed is the same as the built-in slot.

Your experience is similar to mine, where it seems totally random which work and which don't.
Your list maybe indicates 32GB cards don't work. But I have 128GB and 256GB microSD cards that also don't work, and some that do.
If we could figure out the magic characteristic that ensures a card always works, I would just go buy some. But I'm not going to buy a bunch of cards to experiment - they are too expensive to do that.
Thanks for reporting your experience!

 

[Dmitrii Pro]

Good news!!!
Today, when I installed the update mac OS Monterey 12.2 Beta version 2, all my problematic flash cards began to work perfectly!